General Information

Location

The Summer School is located at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI), Lugano Campus (in walking distance from the city center).

Workshops

The Summer School runs for two consecutive weeks, preceded by optional two-day preparatory workshops taught on Friday and Saturday, before the first week of regular workshops. During each of the two weeks of the Summer School, there will be several full-time parallel workshops on both quantitative and qualitative methods. [Click here for the workshop programme].

Each regular workshop runs from Monday through Friday (from 8 h 30 through 18 h), an average effective teaching time of 7½ to 8 hours per day, i.e. a total of up to 35-40 hours for each workshop.

All workshops will be oriented towards practical applications and spend roughly half of their time on applied work and exercises (many workshops will make heavy use of computer software); there will be ample time to discuss and try to solve problems related to your personal research with the instructors and fellow participants. Participants are encouraged to work on their own data and research problems to get the most out of the Summer School experience.

Instructors are renowned specialists and experienced teachers in their respective fields.

How to register?

Register by filling-in the on-line registration form (this is the only form of registration). Registration is conditional until you have paid the invoice (within three weeks of reception). If you applied for the reduced (student) fee a recommendation letter/copy of an official document stating your student status is required to make your registration final. Registration is on a first-come first-serve basis.

Limited number of participants : To guarantee optimal learning conditions, the number of available places per workshop is limited (typically 10-12 for a workshops taught by the instructor alone, up to 20-24 when taught by an instructor and teaching assistant or co-teacher).
Registration for a particular workshop is on a first come/first serve basis. Registrants beyond the maximal number of participants will be placed on a waiting list, and will be informed as soon as a place becomes available. If the waiting list grows too long, registration for that workshop will be closed.

Minimal number of participants: Workshops may be cancelled if there are not enough confirmed participants (fewer than 7) by June 1st. If this happens you will be notified by e-mail and the paid fees will be reiumbursed, or, if you prefer, you can choose to attend one of the other workshops (unless they are fully booked).

Deadlines: There are no specific deadlines for application. However consider:

The number of participants per workshop is limited; some workshops are very popular, so please register as early as possible.

Workshop fees have to be paid in advance and registration is final only after reception of your payment.

Decently priced accommodation is difficult to find at the very last minute.

Who can attend?

Although many participants are (PhD) students or researchers, there are no formal requirements, anyone can attend. Of course motivation to learn more about social science methods is essential.

Teaching language

The language in all workshops and lectures will be English, therefore active and passive command of English is expected.

Fees

The Swiss Summer School is funded through participant’s fees.[Details]

Scholarships/grants

The Summer School is financed through participant’s fees and cannot offer any scholarship, grant or financial aid. If needed, participants should seek financial assistance at their home institution.

Certificate of participation

At the end of the successful completion of a workshop, a Certificate of participation will be delivered, attesting the active presence of the participant during the 5 days of each workshop. Partial presence will be noted on the Certificate. Furthermore no certificate will be delivered for a workshop a participant has attended less than three days. For the two-day Preliminary Workshop a Certificate of Participation is only delivered on request. Each day your instructor will circulate a register; make sure to sign it, every morning and evening, attesting your presence.

If you consider using the Summer School workshops to obtain credits (ECTS), you will have to investigate at your home institution to find out whether they recognize the Summer School, how many credits can be earned for a workshop/course with roughly 35 hours of teaching, no graded work and no exams. We only deliver a Certificate of Participation, i.e. we certify your presence. (See also the FAQ section on this.) Make sure to investigate this matter before registering, if this is important to you.